Something Stronger Than Hate
by abunchofrandomnumbers
Summary: Marco and Higgs are rivals, which means they must hate each other with a passion, right? Well, you know what they say: "Love is stronger than hate."
1. i'm not fine

The room was empty, except for the numerous personal belongings and furniture. But person-wise, it was as empty as a desert. It was dark too, with the only light coming from the moonlight that made its way through the blinds that covered the window. All in all, it was empty.

Until a man-sized portal appeared dead center in the room with a sound similar to that of someone ripping a piece of paper. It also gave off a bright light that vanquished the darkness of the room.

Seconds after the portal materialized, a boy clad in a red hoodie, dark jeans and sneakers stepped into the room from the other side of the portal. He was later joined by a blonde girl who wore a sea green dress with a skirt, pink and orange leggings and a pair of magenta boots, she also had a pair of pink heart marks on her cheeks.

Once the girl fully stepped into the room, the boy turned to the portal and stuck a pair of scissors that he had been carrying, on the top of the portal, then bringing it down to the bottom as the portal closes like a zipper.

The portal fully closes, and the pair are left in the darkness that once filled the room. The boy carefully manuevered his way around, putting his arms out in front of him as to not accidentally bump into something or someone. After bumping his shin onto a dresser and cursing under his breath, he made it to the light switch by the door and flicked it up. The lights flickered to life and the darkness was once again vanquished.

"Man, Pony Head should really lay off that 'magic juice' stuff." The boy said as he rubbed a hand on his left cheek that was red all over and had a noticable point that drew a bit of blood.

"Yeah, sorry Marco. I forgot how Pony Head can be a bit more... 'Pony Head' on magic juice." The girl said with a shrug. Once the words left her mouth, she stretched her arms outward and let out a loud yawn. Marco grinned, he forgot how cute the girl in front him could be-

'No, bad Marco! You're not going there again. Star and Tom are together, and you're her squire. You're over her, you shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that-'

"Hey, you okay, Marco?" Star snapped him out of his thoughts. He hadn't notice that he was staring longingly at Star with a hint of sadness on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "Just spaced out a bit, heh."

"You sure?" There was genuine concern on her face now, one he knew all too well.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You should probably head off to bed, it's kinda late." And with that, Star nodded and headed for the door. She stopped halfway and glanced back at Marco. The amount of times she glanced back at him when she got concerned gave him the confirmation of the wordless question she was asking.

"Again, I'm fine, Star. There's nothing to worry about." He ended with a smile, which she gladly returned before stepping out of the room and closing the door.

Once the door closed, his smile fell to a frown as he stared longingly at the door.

'No, I'm not fine.'

It has been months since he decided to stay in Mewni. Ever since, things have changed. One he didn't expect was the sudden reunion of Star and Tom. There were two reasons why he decided to come back to Mewni, one being that he just cannot go back to the way things were before Star showed up, and the other one being the magical princess herself.

Ever since that day she had revealed her crush on him, he felt a number of emotions regarding the princess. But one in particular stood out the most, and that is love. Though he didn't want to admit it, he had developed feelings for her, and he had the idea of coming to Mewni and announcing to her that he returned her feelings. But that plan shattered when he found out about her and Tom.

It hurt him, though not to the point where he would cry himself to sleep every night. She revealed that she liked him only to be back with her ex-boyfriend. Marco thought that she was playing with him, that what she said was just a huge joke. But it's Star, she would never do that, right?

But what hurt him even more was the subtle and creeping notion that she didn't want to be best friends with him anymore. He called himself an idiot for not seeing through the lines earlier. Being squired to Sir Lavabo, how they weren't hanging out as much as they used to, and how nowadays she treats him more as a servant than her best friend.

'A servant. That's all I am to her now.'

He didn't even try to fight back the single tear that rolled down his cheek. He left his life on Earth; his parents, friends, everything, all for something he couldn't have and to be treated lower than he had been. His single tear now turned into streams as he sat down on his bed and covered his face with his hands, his tears slipping through his fingers.

He sat there for a long time, crying all the pain away. He sometimes wished he hadn't been so stupid and stayed in Mewni. Hell, he sometimes wished he hadn't gone after Star when she revealed her crush. But what's done has been done, and there's nothing he can do about it. It's only a matter of time before he breaks down and decides to leave Mewni for good, either announced or unannounced.

He hadn't noticed that he was slipping into unconsciousness and fell back onto the bed, face and hands wet from tears and breath ragged from all the crying. His eyes were almost closed, only allowing a small amount of light to seep through. His mind replayed a few words he had thought before finally succumbing to the sleepiness.

'I'm not fine.'

* * *

there aren't many miggs fanfics out there so here we go

beware you might find this trash

if there are mistakes - both story wise and grammar wise - let me know


	2. watch where you're going

Marco woke up in a really messy state. He was still wearing his clothes from last night, his hair looked like he went through a tornado, and his eyes were really puffy along with a clogged nose. He's the exact of image of a miserable man right now.

He sat up and rubbed the sleep and puffiness off his eyes. Remembering that he had to meet Sir Lavabo for his daily training, he glanced to the alarm clock on his bedside dresser. He cursed and ran to his closet. He was late. One hour late.

Finding an extra pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, he slid off of his iconic hoodie and undershirt, replacing it with the t-shirt, followed by his jeans.

Putting on his belt, he grabbed his dimensional scissors and the short sword that Sir Lavabo got him for his birthday. It was a simple iron sword with his name engraved on the bottom of the blade. Sure, it wasn't flashy or had really intricate designs, but it was good enough. At least one person cared enough to get him something.

Sliding his sword into the scabbard he recently attached to his belt and the dimensional scissors into his pocket, he made a mad dash out of his room. His shoes squeaked along the polished floors of Castle Butterfly. He whizzed by the numerous potraits of the Butterfly family, dodging incoming servants and guards and drifting corners. The route he was taking was the fastest way to the basement he found, though he only used it for when he was late since the halls he was dashing through were almsot always filled with the castle's servants and workers during this time of day.

He slid into a corner and continued down the hallway he was now facing. At the end was the door to the basement, his destination. He sprinted down the hall with more speed than usual, something about the sight of the door motivated him to exert more effort into not being any more tardy.

"Oh man, I hope Sir Lavabo won't get mad at- OOF!" His mad sprint was brought to a complete stop when he crashed into a person coming from the hallway to the left. The sound of metal against metal was heard as he fell down to the ground on his butt. He watched as a dagger slid to his feet, rubbing his head in pain.

"Ow, watch where you're going, you-" He glanced up from the dagger and felt his face form into a scowl. A very hateful scowl.

"Higgs."

"Marco."

He really didn't want to deal with this right now. If it was anybody else, he wouldn't mind. He would just help them up, apologize, and be on his way. But this is Higgs, his rival squire, the one who humiliated him during the Quest Buy sale, the one who returned the same amount of hate he gave her, probably even more than him.

"You should really watch where you're going, Higgs." Her name was said with venom.

"Oh really?" She started, getting up and dusting herself off, "Says the nerd who ran into me full speed like a ram."

Marco got up and started dusting himself as well. He opened his mouth to retaliate but found that he didn't have a response. In fact, she had a point. It was his fault after all for running around the halls like he was being chased by a behemoth and not watching where he was going.

He scowled and mumbled curses under his breath in defeat. Seeing this, Higgs grinned. "What, can't think of anything?"

"Shut up, Higgs."

Higgs snickered at his defeat. Remembering that she had a reason to walk through the halls, she bent down and began picking up the numerous swords, daggers, and shields that were scattered around them.

Marco watched as Higgs began struggling with carrying the absurd amount of equipment. He sighed and began picking up a nearby sword. Higgs glanced at him through the pile in her hands and raised an eyebrow. "What the heck are you doing?"

Marco rolled his eyes, "I'm helping you, what does it look like I'm doing?"

Higgs furrowed her eyebrows, confused by his sudden act of kindness. Her confusion turned into hate, "I don't need your help, Diaz."

Marco groaned in frustration. "Well, from the look of things, you do. And don't use that 'I'm a real squire' excuse. Plus, it's sorta my fault."

Higgs stopped what she was doing to stare at him with a surprised expression. Marco glanced up from a shield he was picking up and noticed her expression, "What?"

"Did you- Did you just apologize to me?" Her voice was the very definition of dumbfounded.

"Yeah, why?"

Higgs narrowed her eyes, her face radiating with suspicion. Marco simply ignored it and picked the last remaining sword off the ground. He stood up from his crouching position and turned to Higgs.

"Let's go." Higgs furrowed her eyebrows once more as she stared at her rival.

"What?"

"I said let's go. I'm helping you carry these to... where ever you were going." If there was a world record for the most dumbfounded expression, Higgs would have smashed that record into the ground.

Without saying anything, she walked past him and continued down the hall while Marco followed suit with an annoyed expression.

They walked down the halls at a more lesiurely pace. Higgs was still surprised by the actions that just happened five minutes ago. She never thought that the day where Marco Diaz, rival squire who seemed to hate her as much as she hates him, would help her in any way, shape or form would be today. Marco Diaz, who she humiliated during the sale, helping her. Marco Diaz, helping her.

Either this is some really sick dream or she was starting to hallucinate some really impossible things.

She decided to bite the arrow and asked his reason for his help, "Why are you helping me?" If he was one of those shapeshifters the knights were talking about, then she's well prepared in the weapons department.

"Like I said, it's my fault I ran into you. Take this as an apology gift." He gestured to the pile of equipment in his arms.

But even with that, Higgs still couldn't wrap her head around the sudden and unexpected kindness. In fact, his answer didn't answer anything, it just made more questions. Why would he apologize in the first place? Doesn't he hate her? If he hates her, then why would he do all of this?

Her head was starting to hurt. She wasn't that much into people's emotions and the whole "psychology" thing. After all, the people she only ever talked to were Marco (more like insulting), Sir Stabby, and the vendors she would talk to when getting a few things for Sir Stabby.

But before she could start hurting her brain even more, they arrived at a wooden door by the set of stairs they descended from.

"Here." She lightly kicked the door open to reveal a small forge room. The walls were covered with racks containing swords and various other weaponry. There was corner that held a pile of shields and another for helmets and breastplates. In the middle of the room was a sharpening station with a table nearby, swords scattered on top it.

"Just place them here." She said as she placed her pile onto the table. Marco did with his pile and watched as Higgs grabbed a sword and started sharpening, placing the blade against the wheel.

Higgs felt eyes on her and glanced up to see Marco still there, watching her with a sheepish expression.

"What?" She asked, a little annoyed.

"You want me to help?" Marco asked sheepishly, as if he hadn't surprised Higgs enough. Higgs sighed and continued sharpening the sword in her hands.

"Thanks, but I don't need your help anymore. So get out please." She kept her focus on the sword.

Marco simply nodded and turned around, leaving Higgs to work alone as he closed the door. Marco stood outside of the room for a while, thinking about what the absolute heck he just did!

It was like he was on autopilot, except he was wasn't and was fully conscious of his actions. Yet, he felt the need to help her, the need to help his rival that he hates with a passion! All while having this feeling inside his chest that he can't describe with words nor his mind. Maybe there was something magic-related going on, maybe there was something in those nachos he ate last night, or maybe he was just plain coo-coo.

"I really need to sit down, jeez."

He started his ascent on the stairs he came down from while still thinking about the recent events that transpired. Then, something came into his mind, something that put that dumbfounded yet confused look on his face, something that made him think he was actually going crazy.

"Did she just say thanks?"

* * *

a glimpse of what's to come

reviews are appreciated yada yada yada

7148353


	3. good-smelling beast

Marco ran his way through the halls of Castle Butterfly once more (at a slower pace in case someone randomly appears in front of him again). After a few turns, he made his way back to the same hallway he had bumped into Higgs.

As he ran down the hallway again, he spotted a dagger roughly the size of his forearm laying on the floor near where he had bumped into the other squire.

He made his way over to the dagger and bent down to pick it up. Dagger in hand, he noticed a small "H" engraved on the blade just above the crossguard.

"Must be Higgs'." With that in mind, he put the dagger into an extra scabbard he had on his belt, thinking of returning it to the squire after his training.

And there it is again, the sudden helpful gesture - although it wasn't exactly gesture, but you get the point. He didn't know why he was being helpful to his rival all of a sudden. Wasn't he suppose to not help her? Maybe the effects of that magic juice stuff is still lingering around his confused mind.

Remembering his reason being in the hallway he was in, he shook his head of the thoughts of his strange actions and rival and continued onward to the wooden door.

As he made his way down another set of stairs, his mind continued to ponder on his previous thoughts. Seriously, what the heck is happening to him? It's like there's something about her that made him do something he would've never done in his life. Ever. Maybe it's for bragging rights, how he's more "mature and helpful" than her. Or maybe it was that huge pile of weaponry and shields that gave her a hard time, and he felt bad for her having to carry all of that. Or maybe it's those beautiful green eyes that-

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA! What the heck was that?!" He had to stop his descent to make sure his mind wasn't deceiving him. Did he just call her eyes... no. No, that's entirely impossible. There's no way in the entire multiverse that he would find her beautiful. Heck, he wouldn't even call her "above average looking". Maybe he is going crazy. Are there any psychiatrists in Mewni?

Shaking his head once more to clear his mind, he continued his descent. As expected, he found Sir Lavabo by the stairs, arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"Dear Marco, would you care to explain why you are one hour and thirty minutes late?" Sir Lavabo said, staring at Marco with an expectant expression while tapping his foot.

Marco hung his head down in shame and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Sir Lavabo. I ran into... someone and had to help them."

The knight stopped tapping his foot, but still stared at Marco. "Really? Who were they?"

Marco had not expected this at all. Man, sometimes Sir Lavabo could be so nosey. Harco cleared his throat and mumbled something unintelligible. The knight leaned in closer and turned the side of his so that his ear faced the squire.

Marco sighed and spoke more clearly, "Higgs."

The knight leaned back and stared at the squire with a surprised look. He too had not expected this at all. Marco helping his rival? He would've thought he was lying, but this boy would never lie to him - which is one of the things he loved about his squire.

Marco brought his face back up to the knight, expecting a punishment. But what he got instead was a nod. "Okay, that's understanble."

The squire raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what? Aren't you gonna punish me?"

The knight shook his head, "No, my dear boy. You had to help someone, which is a valid excuse to me. And you would never lie to me, right?"

Marco looked to the side and began sweating "Um..."

"Right?"

"Nope, definitely not... wouldn't lie to you." He let out a nervous luaghter. Sir Lavabo narrowed his eyes at the squire, but shrugged it off.

"Well, come on now. We musn't waste anymore time. Have you brought you sword?" Sir Lavabo asked. Marco patted the sheathed sword on his side. The knight then lead the way to a door with Marco in tow. When they arrived, Marco could hear low growling and soft-sounding footsteps from the other side.

"This one had already awoken when I arrived." The knight explained. "Unfortunately, I could not defeat alone, which is another reason why I waited by the stairs for you."

Marco hung his head in shame again, ashamed that he made the old knight wait for him for a long time. Sir Lavabo noticed his shame and shook his head, "Don't be ashamed, Marco. I have already forgiven you. Let's just defeat this beast so we may resume our tasks in peace."

Marco nodded and unsheathed his sword, ready to run in and take whatever horrible and good-smelling beast lies in the other side. Sword in hand, Sir Lavabo gave a confirming nod to the squire and promptly swung the door open. Marco was the first one in, charging at the large cloth beast that immediately saw him.

The beast was humanoid, loose pieces of clothing hanging off its body. Its arms were long enough to reach the floor and it had to slightly crouch to move around the spacious room. The strange thing about it was its small head in comparison to its body, it looked to be the same size as Marco. It had purple glowing eyes and a mouth with somehow sharp-looking teeth.

Once Marco charged in, the beast turned around and started hastily crawling towards the intruder. It raised its fist above its head and slammed it down to the floor, missing the squire by a few meters.

Marco started slashing and hacking at the arm, causing the beast to growl in annoyance. It brought its other fist up and tried to squish the squire again, but let out a wince when the fist met with the blade of Sir Lavabo's sword.

"Begone, foul beast!" The knight yanked his sword from the fist and charged for its legs. Marco, on the other hand, resumed slashing at the previous hand, hoping to cut it off and leave the beast with less fighting power. The beast brought his other hand up and tried swiping at the offending squire, but missed again when the squire dodge rolled out of the way. With one final slash, Marco cut off the beast's arm, causing clothes to lifelessly spill on the ground and the beast to scream in pain.

While Marco tried going for the other hand, Sir Lavabo started slashing at its legs, taking advantage of Marco's distraction. The knight jumped up and hoisted himself up on one of the beast's knee. He began slashing at what must be its kneecap, bringing his sword overhead and bringing down to the leg with force.

His vigorous slashing is brought to a stop when he heard a cry for help a short distance away. He looked up to see Marco being squished in the beast's fist, face blue from the lack of oxygen and his sword abandoned on the ground.

"Marco!" The knight started climbing up the beast's body, using his sword like an ice pick. He stabbed his way on the beast's back and ran above the beast's small head. He jumped and landed on the beast's forearm. Once he found the point where the squire had slashed at, the knight brought his sword above his head and brought it down on the arm, sending the final blow to the remaining hand. Clothes once again fell lifelessly to the floor, and Marco fell to the floor, trying to catch his breath while the beast screamed in pain.

Sir Lavabo made his way to the squire and knelt down. "Are you okay, Marco?" The knight asked, sounding concerned. The squire nodded and made his way to his sword. Once he picked up his sword, he got into a ready stance beside the knight.

"We got rid of its hands. Now we just need to chop its head off, right?" Marco glanced to the knight, expecting a "yes", but was met with the knight focusing on the beast that was still screaming. A few seconds passed and the knight pointed his sword to the beast's chest.

"You see that glow in its chest?" Marco brought his gaze back to the beast and saw a faint purple glow coming from the stab points Sir Lavabo made when climbing. He nodded and glanced back at the knight.

"It has a heart, and we need to kill it." Marco gave a curt nod, and got ready to face the beast once more. The beast had already stop screaming and glared at the two with murderous intent. Sir Lavabo let out a battle cry and charged forward with Marco just behind him.

The beast tried to stop the two, but its handless arms proved his efforts useless. Sir Lavabo went for its legs, hoping to bring the beast down enough for them to reach its chest, while Marco distracted it by running around the beast's vision. The knight climbed on top of the knee he had previously tried to cut off and continued his attack on it. He slashed and hacked, and before you know it, the knee was cut off and the clothes that once made it up fell to the floor like the others.

Once the knee was gone, the beast stumbled and lost balance, causing it to bend down and catch itself with its stubs and scream. Marco stopped running and charged for the chest. The beast was bent over just enough so that he wouldn't have to jump up to attack it.

Marco stabbed his sword at the beast's collarbone, and began making his way down its upper body, slicing it open. Clothes fell and the glow became brighter. Marco yanked back his sword and brought his gaze to the open chest behind him. He made his way back and looked to see a glowing heart made out of purple clothing. Ready to end the fight, he jumped up with all his legs could give him and stabbed the heart. The beast screamed in pain once more before exploding in a mess of shredded and undamaged clothing.

Marco fell to the ground on his back, trying to catch his breath. Sir Lavabo made his over to the tired boy and offered his hand to help him up. Marco accepted it and brought himself up. The knight patted the squire's back while the two caught their breaths.

"Well done, my boy. You never fail to amaze me." Sir Lavabo said. Marco responded with a "thank you" and sheathed his sword. Sir Lavabo glanced at Marco's belt and noticed the dagger in an extra scabbard.

"I am going to take a guess and say that that dagger belongs to your rival." The knight pointed to the dagger. Marco's face put on a confused expression for split second before remembering his little find.

"Yeah, I'm planning to give it back to her after this." Sir Lavabo nodded in understanding before putting on a knowing smile.

"Are you sure that is all you're going to do?" Marco was confused once again before he understood what the old knight meant, confirmed by the red color on his face.

Sir Lavabo let out a chuckle.

* * *

girl we need some action

if we're gonna make it like a true survivor

we need some action

if we wanna take our love away from here

some notes:

i don't have a set update schedule, but i'll try to update twice a week (probably weekends)

you can also suggest some plot point if you want

9186352


	4. chase

Marco was once again walking through the halls of Castle Butterfly. His morning was rather eventful. Right after the defeat of the humanoid cloth beast, around three hundred little spider-like creatures made out of handkerchiefs and string swarmed the laundry room. They had to unfortunately use torches in order to defeat the swarm, which got a little bit out of hand.

Dusting off the rest of the ashes on his shirt, Marco made his way back to the room Higgs was working in. He intended to return her dagger, go to his room and change clothes, and grab some much needed lunch, as confirmed by the grumbling in his stomach that echoed through the quiet halls.

He made his down the stairs the he hoped was the correct set. Once he reached the familiar wooden door, he knocked on twice.

And again.

And again.

Confused, he tried the lock. Knowing that it's unlocked, he slowly opem the door and poked his head in. The room was dark, and an organized pile of shields shimmered in the light coming from the door, but no signs of life.

He closed the door and looked around, hoping to see anyone. That's when he saw Sir Stabby passing by in his usual shiny armor.

"Sir Stabby?" Marco called out, although it sounded more like a question. Fortunately, he caught the knight's attention when he turned his head to the squire's direction.

"Hm? Oh, Marco. What are you doing here?" The knight asked.

"Um, I'm looking for... Higgs. Have you seen her by any chance?"

Sir Stabby put on a scrutinizing look, inspecting Marco like he had secretly done some horrible crime. Marco felt uncomfortable under the knight's gaze, shifting in place and tapping his fingers on his pants.

"You're not planning to do something humiliating to my squire, are you?" The knight asked, still keeping his gaze upon the boy.

Marco was surprised by this accusation, "What? No, no. As much as I'd like too, I'm just... uh... trying to give her dagger back." He unsheathed the dagger he had been carrying all morning, showing it to the skeptical knight.

Sir Stabby's expression softened, but still showed some hints of suspicion. "If that is what you are intending to do, then you can try your luck in the nearby forests north of the castle."

Marco raised an eyebrow, "Forest?"

"She trains there everyday, breakfast until supper." Sir Stabby explained before bidding farewell and walking away.

'Huh, no wonder I don't see her around here much.' Shrugging the though away, he made his up the stairs again and through the marble halls once again.

* * *

Marco made his way through the town, dodging carts full of corn and really rude commoners, and made it out of the border that seperates the kingdom of Mewni and the forests.

He travelled to the edge of the forest and searched the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of his rival so that he won't have to start travelling deep into the trees. When he couldn't any signs of the Mewman girl, he sighed and started making his way through the forest.

He kept his senses high for the squire he was looking for and for any danger that may be lurking around. When he still could not see any signs of Mewman life, he unsheathed the dagger and inspected it. The dagger was about the size of his forearm, including his hand. The crossguard was a simple thin metal bar that had small triangular ends. The handle was covered in a white cloth that showed signs of wear and even had a bit of blood on it. The blade itself was well kept and sharp, shimmering against the occassional sunlight he walked through.

He flipped the dagger around, scrutinizing it bit by bit. His mind wandered around his thoughts. He was still wondering why he was returning the dagger personally, when he could just leave it with Sir Stabby for him to give it to her. Yet, there he was, walking through a forest looking for her. It was contradictory to the two squire's... relationship, if you can call it that. He should be avoiding her. Hell, he shouldn't even be thinking about her, he should throwing knives at a picture of her with hateful intent.

It was like there was something inside him that made him want to do this. Something he couldn't explain. It had given him an annoying itch. An itch he just couldn't reach. He wanted to scratch this itch, he wanted to find out the thing that made him to do this.

But not right now, apparently, as he heard the familiar sounds of his rival. He sheathed the dagger and pulled out his sword, just in case his ears were deceiving him. He tracked the source of the sounds and followed it slowly. Once he was sure he was near, he slowed down to a snail's pace and quietly made his way to a tree. He crouched down and sneaked a peak at the clearing.

There she was, punching and kicking at a dummy with strong force. He swore he could see the dummy almost flying off the ground. Her moves were like water, smooth and fluid. Kick after kick, punch after punch. Marco stared in amazement, just admiring how skilled the Mewman squire actually is. The sweat on her skin shined in the sunlight, giving him the illusion that she was glowing, just like her green eyes whenever she glanced in his di-

'Oookay, no. Come on, Marco, focus here.' He shook his thoughts away and stood up from his crouched position. He walked out of the trees and walked to her, him being behind her. He was a few feet behind her, though she was still focused on that dummy.

"Uh, Higgs-" Suddenly, she twirled around and punched whoever was sneaking up behind her. And whoever that was, he was now on all fours on the ground, gripping his neck and coughing violently.

She looked down and noticed the familiar black hair of his rival. "Marco?!" She yelled.

He was still coughing and struggling for air, but he was able to let out a few words in a high pitched voice, "Higgs- ***cough*** what the- ***cough*** heck was that- * **cough*** for?"

Higgs crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, ignoring how he's struggling for air, "I thought you were one of those creeps that spies on girls."

Marco managed to stand up, but kept on coughing and wheezing. " ***cough*** Jeez, I can taste the blood."

Higgs rolled her eyes, "Oh, suck it up. What're you doing you here, anyway? And how the heck did you find me?"

"Sir Stabby said you were here. ***cough*** I'm here to give you this." He unsheathed her dagger and showed it to Higgs. The Mewman squire was surprised for a split second before putting on an angry expression. She quickly snatched the dagger out of his hands and brandished it at him.

"How did you get this?! Have you been stealing my stuff?!" She demanded. Marco raised his hands up like he was caught. "What? No! I found it on the floor where we bumped into each other."

She squinted her eyes, skeptical of his reason. She scoffed, "Nice try. Like I'd ever believe that excuse."

Swiftly, she lunged forward and managed to unsheath Marco's sword. He was left disoriented for a second before he turned to see his sword in his Higgs' hands.

"Hey, what the heck are you doing?" He demanded. She tossed the sword in the air and caught a few times, taunting him, "Returning the favor." She quickly turned around and headed straight into the forest.

Marco sprinted and followed her. He jumped over fallen logs and dodged protruding branches. She was fast, faster than Marco had expected, and he only got a few glimpses of her before he completely lost her. Angry, he glanced around his surroundings, hoping to find a hint of her location. Unfortunately, there was nothing but trees and fuana for miles.

Suddenly, he heard the snapping of a stick, and charged to where he thought was the source of the sound. He ran, his body demanding for air and his legs demanding for rest.

He stopped to catch his breath, leaning over and putting his hands on his knees. He heard more snaps from behind him, and when he turned around, it was too late. He was met with the a leg sweep from the Mewman squire, and fell to the ground face first. He tried to get up, but he was stopped by a boot to his back.

"All that training with Sir Lavabo and yet, you still fall victim to the element of surprise." She taunted.

"Come on, Higgs. Give that back, it's a gift from Sir Lavabo." He tried to get up again but was met with more resistance.

"Well, you should be more careful with your gifts."

He groaned, "Higgs, I didn't steal your dagger!"

She rolled her eyes, "Keep telling yourself that, 'cause I'm not believing it one bit."

Marco felt his blood boil. With the newfound strength he got from his anger, he pushed himself off the ground, causing Higgs to stumble backwards and fall on her back. She tried to push herself up with her elbows but her hands were suddenly above the top of her head, subdued by Marco's hands.

Marco was too angry and Higgs was too dumbfounded that the two hadn't realized the position they were in. Marco was on top of Higgs, her legs inbetween his. They were so close that their chests almost touched and their noses were only an inch away.

Marco snapped out of his anger and realized what he was doing, causing his face (and her's) to become a deep red color. They stayed like that for a few seconds, not moving an inch. Marco wanted to move away, but he couldn't. It was like something was preventing him to push himself off the ground and turn away from those bright, beautiful, green...

Marco snapped his eyes shut and shook his head. He glanced down and saw his sword hanging off the Mewman squire's belt. He quicklt unsheathed it and got himself of off Higgs and off the ground.

Higgs was staring up into the sky, still shocked and red-faced from the recent series of events. Both squires were panting, both from running and from... that.

Marco stared at Higgs, who was still on the ground. "Um... yeah." He sheathed his sword and started running into the forest, leaving Higgs alone to her thoughts.

'What the heck...'

* * *

so... two weeks left of summer here. i'll probably have bump my quota down to one update a week, but i'll try to update as much as i can (if writer's block, being unmotivated, or school work doesn't get to me)

also:

73 68 69 66 74 20 62 79 20 33 20 76 78 72 6c 77 6c 75 77 78 71 20 67 71 64 20 76 78 72 6c 66 6c 6f 68 67 20 68 75 64 20 76 68 6e 64 66 71 64 73

first person to pm me the EXACT answer wins a vague story spoiler and a shoutout in the next chapter :)


	5. a king gone missing

shoutouts to Christalm for solving the puzzle thingy :)

* * *

a king gone missing

* * *

A few minutes after... that, Marco made it back to the kingdom. He was still wondering about the events that just transpired. What were they doing? Why didn't he pull away sooner? What was he going to do? What would she think of him now?

Marco was so stunned by his last thought that he had stopped his walk. Since when did he care about what she thought of him? Why would he care about what she thought of him?

Marco shook his head to clear his thoughts. The sun was setting, and he was tired and drenched in sweat. He probably smelled really bad. Once he got to the castle, he would take a nice, hot shower and go straight to bed.

Which he did, but not before being stopped by Star in the barely lit hallway outside his room.

"Hey, Marco- ugh," She pinched her nose immediately after breathing in the horrible smell coming off of him, "Wow, no offense, but you kinda stink."

'Yup, I do smell bad.'

"Sorry, I forgot to shower." He shrugged as if it was a normal occurence, which sometimes is.

Star still pinched her nose, "Yeah, where were you? I haven't seen you all day."

Marco's face turned a little red when his mind went back through the events of the entire day. "Y-yeah, um... I had to... run errands... for Sir Lavabo." He stuttered. He hoped that Star would buy his excuse.

But her face told him that she hadn't. She furrowed her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes, "But Sir Lavabo never gives you errands."

"Yeah, well, he does now." He chuckled nervously. Star was still suspicious, her expression still unchanged. Marco's palms were starting to sweat, and he was shuffling his feet uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze.

Fortunately, her expression finally softened, "Okay. Well, are you free this weekend? 'Cause I was thinking of going dimension-hopping. Ya know, kick bad guy butt and stuff."

"Oh, um... Yeah, I think I am. Who's going with?" He asked. He was secretly hoping that it would just him and her. But he was really doubting it. Unlike back in Echo Creek, when it was just the two of them, she had started inviting her other friends on their adventures ever since he got back. It was rare enough for them to even go on an adventure, much less just the two of them.

"Oh, it's just gonna be you, me, and Tom." Tom. Out of all the people she could have invited, she had to pick Tom. Don't get him wrong, him and Tom are cool - they're nearing the level of best friends even. But just hearing his name made him dislike Tom a bit. It was petty, he knew it, but he couldn't help it.

It also stung him a bit. If he would go on with this, he probably would have to watch Star and Tom get all lovey dovey at one point - smooching too, if he was patient enough to not snap and run away.

But still, this is an oppurtunity to hang out with Star, and he wouldn't miss it. Even if it would secretly hurt his feelings a bit or possibly make him angry and attack a certain three-eyed demon.

"Oh, okay. So, this weekend, right?" Marco said. His expression became saddened a bit, but it was barely noticable under the near darkness.

"Mhmm." They both went silent for a bit. When Star squinted her eyes to see his face better, she caught the unintentional frown on his face.

"Hey, you alright?" Star asked in concern. She had been noticing Marco getting all sad whenever he was near her. She couldn't figure why, and she had been trying for a while now. They had been best friends for a whole year, and yet she still had a hard time reading him.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

Star was not buying it, "Seriously, Marco. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Star. I'm just tired, is all."

"Marco, come on. If there's something wrong, you can tell me."

"Star, for the last time, there's nothing wrong. I'm fine." Marco was getting a bit more annoyed.

"Marco-"

"Star!" Marco snapped. Star jumped at his sudden outrage. He was panting, and his fists were clenched. If she looked a little closer, she could see some wetness in his eyes. For the first time, Star was actually scared of Marco. She had never seen him snap like that, especially at her. She stood there while he calmed down, afraid that if she moved an inch, he would do something much worse than momentarily snap.

A few minutes later, Marco's fists started to loosen, and his expression started to soften, but there was still some hint of anger on his face, especially in his eyes.

Marco sighed exasperatedly, "Look Star, I'm fine, alright? I just want to take a shower and go to sleep."

Not a second later, he was inside his room, his door slamming shut echoing through the now quiet halls. That was it. No sorry, no goodbye, just 'stomp, stomp, slam'. Star stood there motionless, still scared. When the echoes finally died down, she realized that she had been standing there for too long. And in any moment, he could come out, notice her, and either snap at her again for why she was still there or give her one of the coldest stares she had ever seen.

So she ran away, away from that door like it was the plague. While her shoes click-clacked on the floor at a fast rate, she wondered what happened to him. She wondered what happened to the Marco she knew. What happened that made him do something that she never even thought he would do.

She's will to get to the bottom of this. She will find out what happened to her year-long bestie, and she will fix it - unlike her other problems.

Oh, but if only she knew.

* * *

This time, there were no tears. Instead, there was fire. He was angry, and he showed it to the numerous innocent objects in his room. He was so angry that he passed out right in the middle of his now trashed room, his much needed shower long forgotten.

Not only was the anger from last night still lingered a bit when he woke up the next morning, he was also smelly and tired. It was like he had never slept at all. He glanced around his still trashed room, and groaned. His anger got to him, and not only will he have to clean up his room - which would take an hour or two - Star would likely pester him more about his current behavior.

Star.

He hadn't meant to snap at her. But he was so blinded by his current relationship with Star that he just let himself. From what he could remember, Star looked so scared. It's reasonable, he never snapped at her. He should probably apologize. No, he should apologize. He's going to be mature about this. He's going to confront her, and say sorry. He's going to say sorry, and try not to think of Tom, or the upcoming weekend, or how she treats him like a servant and not as a best friend ever since he returned to Mewni.

Marco sighed. This is going to be harder than he thought.

He got up from the floor that became his temporary bed for last night and staggered towards his wardrobe. He grabbed one of his many red hoodies, a plain gray t-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of sneakers and socks. He tiredly walked out of his room, grabbing a towel from a rack on the way, and to where the showers were.

He staggered through the halls like a mindless zombie. He tuned out everything around him, just focusing on getting to the showers and taking a nice, warm, much needed shower.

Unfortunately, being a mindless zombie isn't the best thing to be right now, as like yesterday, he bumped into familiar mewman - one he had been bumping into more in a day than he would in a week.

"Are you seriously going bump into me everytime we meet now?" Once he heard that annoyed voice, his mind sirens went blaring. The events that happened yesterday were still fresh in his mind, and once he remembered, his face went red as as his hoodie.

"Oh... um- uh..." He stuttered. He couldn't get the usual retort out of his mouth; he was embarassed as heck.

Higgs raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, waiting for him to say something beyond those stutters. She saw how red his face was, and she knew what was on his mind. She still felt a bit awkward after that, but unlike him, she was able to forget that whole thing and act like a normal mewman being.

She sighed exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look," She started, "Just... forget about it, alright? I did, you should too."

For some reason, Marco started to calm down. "Oh, um... okay." He replied.

They stood there for a few seconds in complete silence. The silence was unusual. Marco was used to the noise of the several servants and inhabitants running around the halls to do whatever they do in the morning, but the silence made it seem like he was in a completely different castle.

Neither of the two still have yet to say anything. Marco started getting awkward, and he started things he would do when he is. A little bit of finger tapping here, a little bit of lip smacking there. Apparently, his awkwardness was infectious, as Higgs started doing what he was doing as well.

Thankfully, after a few more torturing minutes, Higgs managed to break the silence, "So... where the heck are you going?"

Marco raised an eyebrow, "To the showers. Why you ask?" He honestly didn't know why she would bother knowing his destination. She never even asked where he was going or what he was doing before... all of this.

"Showers?" Once he said the word, Higgs had a faint blush on her face. Inappropriate thoughts of her rival were flooding her mind. She shouldn't be thinking of him like that - he's her rival, for Mewni sakes.

But her thoughts got the best of her. She started getting... curious of what he would be like without that hoodie. She started askinf if he's scrawny or fit, if his body is scar-ridden or not, if he has muscles or not, and even how long his-

"NO!" She shouted, and immediately clasped her hands over her mouth. What was going on in her mind? She just lost control of it for a second. It's like it had a mind of it's own (heh).

She glanced over at Marco, who now had an eyebrow raised. It was her turn to get embarassed.

"Um... what?" Marco asked. That was her que to get the heck out of there. She whipped around and ran as far away from him as he could, boots click-clacking on the marble floor. Marco just watched her run down the halls while still having her hands over her mouth, more confused than ever.

Instead of pondering what just happened, he shrugged it off and continued his way to the shower.

* * *

The shower was what he needed. It soothed his aching muscle and warmed him up. After a few minutes in, he turned the knob, stopping the flow of water on his body. He stepped out and grabbed a towel, drying himself. Once he was fully dried, he started changing into his new set of clothes.

Suddenly, there was loud clanking of metal outside, which meant there were knights running, which often meant there was something going on. He hurried up, and ran outside to catch up with the knights.

Marco and the knights ran through the halls, breaking the unusual silence. They ran until they reached what Marco thought was the planning room. They all entered, and Marco saw Queen Moon going over a map on the large table in the middle of the room, hair slightly messy. To her right was Star, who was gripping on her wand tightly and also had messy hair, and to her left were the main knights and their squires, including Sir Lavabo.

Marco approached Sir Lavabo, who was gazing at the map behind the queen. He tapped the knight on the hip, making him jump slightly.

"Marco!" The knight exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Marco asked.

"River went missing," Queen Moon replied, not taking her gaze off the map, "He went to go punch trees in the Forest of Certain Death or whatever he usually does late at night. He usually comes back in the morning, but as you can see, he hasn't. Best case scenario would be he just got lost, worst case would be he got kidnapped or worse."

Marco was half surprised, half worried. He was surprised that King River, a really really tough guy, would get kidnapped. And he was worried that whatever or whoever kidnapped the king would be really dangerous, having kidnapped the tough king and all.

Star butted in, "We searched everywhere! The forest, the other forest, the entire kingdom, the swamps, we even searched through monster territory! But no dad!" She started pacing in small circles, gnawing on her wand.

"Star, calm down." Queen Moon said. Star only quickned her pacing and gnawing. The queen sighed exasperatedly. She turned towards the knights.

"Everyone, let's do one more search around the forest. If you can't find him, I'll have to contact the other kingdoms for a larger search party." The queen commanded.

The knights went for the door along with their squires. Star started to head out as well, but was stopped by her mom.

"Star, I'm going to need you to stay here."

Star whipped around to face her mom, "What? Why?"

"I'm going to need you to help me calm the kingdom down in case everyone goes crazy at the news that we couldn't find him."

Star's frown deepened, "But I wanna help! I wanna help find dad!"

"I know, Star. But the kingdom will likely to collapse if we don't keep them in check."

"But-"

The queen huffed, "No more buts, young lady. Just let the knights handle it."

Star sighed. She pulled out a chair and sat on it with a huff while her mother continued looking at the map for any place where River could possibly be.

* * *

It had been three hours since the search had started again. The knights and their squires had inspected every nook and cranny of the forest. Every tree, hole, and cave, but still no River. They even went the distance of pulling on every branch in case one of them was a secret lever to an underground hideout, but none of them were.

Marco was exhausted. They had started double checking areas in case they missed something, and as usual, there was no sign of the king anywhere.

He took a seat on a tree stump a small distance away from the search party. He was sweating furiously and probably smelled again. He unscrewed the cap on the canteen he brought and took a swig on the cold, refreshing water.

Just then, he heard the crunching of leaves behind him. Being near the heart of the Forest of Certain Death, he was on high alert. Heart pumping, he whipped his around so fast that he would've gotten whiplash if it were any faster, while his hand immediately gripped the handle of his sword.

When he found out that who was behind him was none other than Higgs, his grip on his sword loosened, but his face showed a bit of annoyance.

"Jeez, Higgs. You almost scared me half to death." He said, clutching at his chest to try and slow the pace of his heart.

Guilt was shown on her face, which actually surprised Marco, "Oh, um, sorry." And that surprised Marco even more. That was probably the first time he heard her apologize. Saying thank you was one thing, but actually apologizing was a whole other level.

"Um..." Suddenly, there was scream in the distance. Both squires to the direction of the sound. When there was another scream, Marco jumped up from his spot and ran towards the source with Higgs in tow.

They sprinted, jumping over logs and tree stumps. They probably shouldn't be doing this alone, but with screams like that, they were sure that whoever that was would be dead before they get to the search party.

They ran and ran and ran while the screams continued. Once the screams were loud enough, they slowed down and took positions behind some trees. In addition to the louder screams were growls and roars.

Higgs snuck a peek, and saw the faint silhouette of something huge and definitely humanoid amongst the trees. She searched for any detail that could give her a hint of what it could be, but the creature quickly moved deeper into the forest.

Higgs lokked over to Marco and made a gesture to move forward. Marco nodded, and followed Higgs. They slowly travelled through the trees, wary of their surroundings in case of a surprise attack, while the screams and roars continued.

"What do you think is that thing?" Marco asked quietly.

"I don't know, but we're probably gonna find out soon." She replied. She kept a tight grip on the grip of her sword. She kept a close eye for any sudden movements among the trees.

Suddenly, the noises stopped, and that often means something happened. Higgs put an arm out to her side, stopping Marco from progressing any further. The mewman squire scanned her surroundings, listening for any indication that there's something coming for them. Marco meanwhile had his sword out, ready to strike any foe that tried to attack them.

After a few moments of silence, they both heard the rustling of leaves and stomping in the distance behind them. They turned around and saw something coming straight for them. Trees were being shoved aside and birds were flying away from the path their mystery creature was taking. And ater the last bit of tree was gone, they finally got a look at the creature they were tailing.

It was huge, as huge as the cloth beast Marco had fought yesterday. It had a huge trunk as a body, and branches for arms and legs - all being covered in moss and leaves. It's head was somehow spherical, with only two glowing green holes for eyes and branches made to look like antlers on his head.

It stood a distance away from the two battle-ready squires. The three stood there, waiting for someone to make a move. The standoff was broken when a badly beaten King River emerged from one of the creature's eyes.

"Marco! Higgs! Don't worry, I'm oka-" He was cut off when the creature slapped a hand over his eye. The creature's face started to split in half vertically, showing a mouth full of point wooden teeth and numerous tongue-like vines. It roared loudly, causing the squires to cover their ears lest their eardrums explode.

The creature charged forwards, shaking the ground beneath. It brought its wooden fist up and began bringing it down towards the two squires. Higgs quickly shoved Marco away from the incoming fist while she rolled to the side. The two quickly unsheathed their swords and charged towards the wooden behemoth, yelling out battle cries. The creature tried to kick at the incoming squires, but its kicks were easily dodged. The two kept running until they reached its legs.

"We gotta cut of its legs!" Marco yelled out. Higgs nodded and proceeded to climb the creature's right leg while Marco went for the left. Once the two reached the knee, they started slashing and hacking at it. But as soon as cuts were made, they were filled by moss that quickly turned into wood, quicker than they could swing at the cut to make it deeper. They kept on it though, swinging their swords at fast recovering cuts while the creature tried to grab and shake them off.

Eventually, the creature was able to shake off the tired squires, making them fall to the ground beside their swords. The creature brought its foot up to squash the two, but stopped suddenly. The squires looked at the frozen behemoth above them, confused as to why it stopped. The creature started clutching its neck and make gagging noises. Suddenly, King River came bursting out of the creature's mouth, a bunch of its tongue-like vines in one hand and covered in what seemed to be tree sap, and landed in front of the amazed squires.

River quickly grabbed the squires by the collar, barely making them not grab their swords, and ran away from the still gagging creature and towards the kingdom.

"We have to get out of here! The three of us alone can't defeat that thing!" The king yelled, panting in between words. The two squires were now on their feet just behind River. They jumped over ditches and logs, and dodged branches and boulders. The ground started to shake, and the three glanced behind them to see the creature catching up to them.

"Uh, that thing is following us!" Marco shouted.

"We're gonna lead him to the kindgom, where we have better chance of taking that beast down!" The king shouted back. The three continued running for their lives until they finally reached the kingdom.

* * *

"Sorry, your majesty, but we couldn't find the king. We checked everywhere." Sir Lavabo sadly said.

Queen Moon, Star, and the knights were outside the kingdom, the two monarchs eager to hear some good news but were disappointed.

The queen sighed, "Alright. I think it's time to call the other kingdoms."

Everyone was heading back to the kingdom when the ground started to shake. Birds flew up from the nearby trees of the forest. Everyone turned to look at the forest. The ground started to shake more intensely with each second.

"Everyone, defensive positions!" A knight yelled. The knights started preppping bows and arrows and took positions in front of the the monarchs. Everyone waited for whatever monster is charging towards their kingdom.

After a minute or two, King River emerged from the trees with Marco and Higgs behind him. They all had bruises and were sweating profusely. The three of them were waving their arms around and were shouting something.

"tree- mons- Tree- Monste- Tree Monster! Tree Monster! TREE MONSTER!" Marco shouted. As if on que, behind emerged the wooden behemoth from the sea of trees, the glow in its eyes now a deep red. Everyone gasped at the size of the behemoth.

"FIRE!" A knight shouted. Arrows flew at fast speeds towards the creature. Some stuck at its wooden skin while some just fell to the ground.

"Swords up high, men! CHARGE!" Another knight shouted. A large group of knights with shields and swords charged towards the creature. They gathered up beneath it and started hacking at the legs. With more swords, the cuts made were a lot deeper but were not enough to defeat the fast moss regeneration that quickly replaced the lost wood.

The creature was getting annoyed, and started kicking at the knights, sending groups flying away. Arrows kept flying at the creature, but they were deflected by a swipe of its arm - some being deflected back at them.

Star was still staring in shock at the massive beast. When her mother started attacking the creature with spells, she snapped out of her shocked staye and began firing spells alongside her mother.

"Narwhal Blast!" Narwhals emerged from her wand and struck the creature, but no harm was done - as if she never fired the spell.

"Mom, I think it's magicproof!" Star said to her mother while she continued firing different spells at the creature.

Marco had joined the knights at slashing the legs. He getting tired, and soon enough he was kicked towards Higgs' side who was firing arrows at the creature. He stood up and stared at the slowly approaching creature. It kept kicking the knights away and was swiping at arrows like flies. He was going through his mind for any way to defeat the wooden behemoth. And then, something popped up, something that he probably should have thought of a while ago.

He turned to Higgs, who was still firing arrows, "Fire! We need fire!"

Higgs nodded and turned towards the bow and arrow group, "Everyone! We need fire! Fire!"

"Get the oil barrels and some torches, quick!" A knight said. Half of the group ran towarda the kingdom and came back with oil barrels and torches. Arrows were dipped inside the barrels and were then lit with torches. Everyone took positions, ready to fire at the creature.

A knight commanded the sword groups to run away from the creature. Once it was clear, the same knight commanded everyone to fire. Flickering orange lights flew through the air and landed at the creature. This time, the creature screamed as the fire started to spread throughout it wooden skin. The fire was starting to work, but was still not enough as the creature started patting the fire to extinguish itself.

Arrows were relit and fired at the creature. The creature was starting to burn, but its moss regeneration still kept it standing. Star realized the strategy everyone was going for, and decided to try something.

She pointed the wand at the creature and shouted, "Tid-oil Wave!" Waves of oil emerged from the wand and went for the creature. Once the oil hit the creature, the fire immediately engulfed the entire creature in it. It screamed and tried to pat the fire out, but failed and now fell to its knees. It started to fall over some knights, who all ran away from the burning creature, but Higgs was the last one to notice the falling flames and tried to run away, but it looked she wouldn't make it. Fortunately, Marco was able to run to Higgs and tackled her away from the creature. The creature finally fell to the ground with a large ground-shaking 'boom'.

Cheers now filled the air, as every knight started clapping and celebrating at the defeat of such a massive monster. Marco and Higgs were still on the ground, both having their eyes shut tight and were unintentionally hugging each other as tight as they could. Once the cheers started, they opened their eyes to the sweet relief of being alive. They both sighed in relief, but noticed that they were still holding onto each other. They pushed each other away, both blushing furiously.

King River suddenly appeared behind and both gave them pats on the back. "Ha ha! Well done, you two. If both of you hadn't found me, I would've been tree chow." The king said. He grabbed both of their hands and lifted them up into the air, "Marco and Higgs, everyone!" The cheers were now louder than before, in addition to the cheers of their respective knights.

"Well done, Marco!" Sir Lavabo cheered.

"Good job, Higgs!" Sir Stabby also cheered.

The two squires looked at each other and did something wouldn't have ever done, they smiled at each other.

Meanwhile, behind the cheering knights, was Star. She looked at the two squires who were smiling at each other with narrowed eyes, but she was mostly looking at Higgs. Her eyes had a hint of suspicion to them. She also felt something in her chest, similiar to the feeling when Marco was dating Jackie. Could they be...? No, they couldn't be, they wouldn't. They hate each other... right? Why is she even asking these questions? She has no reason to even think about these questions... does she?

She realized that she had been... looking for too long that it would make anyone suspicious of her. So she joined in the cheering, but with less enthusiasm as opposed to the knights around her.

* * *

oof, that was a beast to write, at least 4.5k words

also, if anyone cares enough to see some original work, i have a fictionpress account under the name rayyarray

i only have one story with two chaps up right now, but if you want to see more of that story, let me know

5140252


	6. sir lavabo's sick day

sir lavabo's sick day

* * *

It had been two days since the whole "tree monster" incident, which would mean that there's only four days until the weekend. Marco was honestly scared of the upcoming event. Who knows what he might do? Will he snap and attack Tom when they get all lovey-dovey? Will he be all grumpy and make Star bother him to tell her what's wrong, eventually snapping at her. Or will he just break down and bail? Marco himself didn't even know.

He hope he can keep his emotions under control, because right now, he's unpredictable, even to himself. It's scary, to not be able to know what you're going to do, and the consequences that comes when your actions are anything but good.

Another thing was that Higgs was nowhere in sight. Marco bumped into her so much that he knew she took the same route every morning. But ever since the incident, he hadn't got a glimpse of her in the hallways. And when he did get one - which is rare - she would notice and immediately turn away and leave. It was as if she was avoiding him. The Marco before would have been thrilled at this. But now, it surprisingly left him feeling a bit empty. Like how one small common occurence in your life just stopped, and you can't just get used to it.

But right now, he has to focus on the present, because he just bumped into a wall, not dropping the bowl of water in his hands but instead splashing some onto his hoodie.

"Dangit." He cursed. He turn to the hallway to his left, ignoring his hoodie for now. He walked down a set of familiar stairs, the scent of cloth and lavender becoming much stronger with each step. Arriving at a wooden door, he pushed it opened with his shoulder and entered, careful not to spill the water again. This time, instead of heading to the washroom, he turned left to another wooden door that's slightly ajar. He pushed it open with his foot and approached the man lying down on the bed inside.

"How are you doing, Sir Lavabo?" Marco asked.

Sir Lavabo coughed and sneezed, then sniffed up the mucus that was running down his upper lip. "Not so well, honestly." His voice was raspy from the phlegm in his throat.

Marco frowned a little. He was sad that the tough and persistant knight had succumbed to sickness. He walked up to the bedside drawer and placed the bowl of water on it. He placed a hand onto Sir Lavabo's forehead, feeling his temperature. He turned back to the drawer and grabbed a towel that was beside the bowl. He soaked it up with the water and squeezed it back into the bowl. He turned back to the sick knight and gently placed the damp towel onto the knight's forehead. Sir Lavabo sighed as the cool damp towel began cooling his forehead.

"Thank you, Marco." He said.

Marco grabbed a nearby chair and sat down at the side of the bed. "So... since you're sick, does that mean I get the day off?" He asked sheepishly. He hoped he would be free today so that he think about the upcoming weekend and everything else.

The knight chuckled, and coughed right after. "Marco, just because I'm sick doesn't you get to skip today's training. You can train by yourself, you're not sick. Plus, even though you've defeated numerous cloth monsters, you're still not strong enough to take one on by yourself. So the more you train, the stronger you will be."

Marco pouted, "So do I just train by myself with, like, dummies?"

The knight nodded, causing Marco to lean back on his chair and frown. Sir Lavabo frowned a bit. He tried to think of something else because Marco at his skill level would be pretty bored at just punching dummies all morning. And that's when an idea hit him, an imaginary light bulb popping into existence above his head.

"Hey, why don't you train with someone else?" The knight said, smiling at his newfound idea.

"Huh?"

"You could train with someone else. I mean, you've sparred with me for months now, I think it's good to train with someone with a different fighting style. It would help you adapt more, you know?"

Marco pondered on the idea. It seemed like a good one, but there was just one small thing. "But with who?"

Sir Lavabo went back into thinking mode. He skimmed through all possible candidates for Marco's temporary sparring partner. One who is good at fighting, but not to good to the point where Marco would get seriously injured.

"How about Sir Stabby's squire?" The knight asked.

"Higgs?" Marco was surprised. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Higgs is basically my arch-nemesis." And she had been avoiding him like the plague for the past two days, so he guessed it would be pretty hard to get her to train with him (and it would most likely be awkward if she did agree)

Sir Lavabo raised an eyebrow, "Then how come I saw the two of you smiling at each other when you were cheered on two days ago, hm?"

The squire's face went red at the memory, and he rubbed his arm. "That's- uh... we were- um..."

The knight grinned at his squire's stuttering. "Come on, Marco. I've seen her train a few times before. She's quite good, but not too good that she'll seriously injure you. Plus, this could be a good oppurtunity to befriend her. You two make quite a good team if you both work together. Remember, it's better to have more friends than enemies."

Marco pondered for a bit. Him and Higgs making a good team and working together? He thought that that was beyond impossible. Just befriending her by itself would be very hard.

But there was something inside him that pushed to try it. To try being her friend. It was similar to the force that pushed him to help her out and to return her dagger. Again, he couldn't explain it, and it looks like it won't be stopping anytime soon.

"Are you really sure Higgs and me together is good?" Marco asked, then realized what he just said, eyes wide as saucers, "I-I mean, like, working together and- not, you know, 'together together'." He groaned and smacked his forehead, face bright red.

Sir Lavabo gave out a chuckle, "Don't worry, I understand what you mean. As for your question, yes. You two are good with swords and are athletic. And I'm not going to be there with you in battle everytime. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm getting old and more sick every day," As if on cue, he coughed, "So yes, it would be great if you and her work together."

The squire sighed, "Okay, I'll do it. Or, well, try at least."

The knight's face beamed, "That's my boy! Now go, if Sir Stabby asks, just tell that Sir Lavabo suggested."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry Marco, I'll be fine. Now onwards, my squire!" Sir Lavabo raised his arm up high dramatically.

Marco smiled at the knight and walked out of the room, and closed it gently. As he watched the boy run out of the room, Sir Lavabo couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Star had her head on the table, poking at her breakfast and having one of the most intense thinking faces she had in a while. It had been two days, two days since she saw... whatever Marco and Higgs had done. Why were they smiling at each other? Don't they hate each other? Or waa some kind of secret rival thing were their facial expressions meant one thing while they actually mean another thing? And why were they both seperated from the search party? Were they lost? Were they fighting? Or were they... No, it can't be. There's no way they're in a romantic relationship she hadn't heard of, even one that is that physical.

Are they?

Why was she even asking these questions? It's not like it would be the end of the multiverse if they were together. She shouldn't even care about who Marco dates. She doesn't have a crush on him anymore, she moved on. She's dating Tom now, and he's dating...

"Ugh!" Star sat up straight and began rubbing her temples. Queen Moon transferred her gaze from her plate to her daughter and raised an eyebrow.

"Star, are you alright? You haven't eaten your breakfast at all." She asked.

"I'm fine, mom. Just thinking about stuff." She went back to poking her food.

"Stuff?" King River asked, his voice being a bit mumbled by the food in his mouth.

Star sighed, "It's just that... Marco's been acting really weird lately. Like super weird."

"How weird?" The queen asked.

"Like, he's been all Mr. Grumpy the past few weeks. And when I try to talk to him, he just doesn't want to talk to me. It's like he hates me or something." She wanted to also say that his rivalry with Higgs had also gotten a bit weird, but she thought that saying that would be also weird, and she needed to focus on Marco's grumpiness instead of that.

"Well," King River said before swallowing the food in his mouth, "I'm sure Marco has a good reason why he's been grumpy. Maybe he just had a bad day."

"I agree with your father. Maybe he just had a bad day." Queen Moon said.

"Then that's an awful lot of bad days he's had." Star said sadly.

"Maybe he just needs someone to cheer him up, or just someone to talk to. Perhaps you should be the one." River said.

"Yeah, but he doesn't want to talk to me, remember?"

"Then cheer him up in another way. Maybe you should take him out on an adventure. He loves those, doesn't he?" The queen said.

"Yeah. Yeah! Marco never denies an adventure! That's sure to cheer him up!" Star stood up and slammed her hands onto the table, rattling the numerous plates and cups. She kicked her chair back and ran for the door, only to be stopped by her mother.

"Star, Marco's taking care of Sir Lavabo, remember?"

"Oh, right." She chuckled sheepishly, "Tomorrow it is then!"

Star went back to her and started eating her breakfast happily. She was excited for tomorrow. She has a chance of cheering Marco up and make him not become something much worse than Mr. Grumpy. She was as happy as a happy person can get. And maybe she could have a proper talk with him. A talk that could help her what was wrong with him.

Star smiled and continued stuffing her mouth with breakfast, Marco's love life now forgotten.

* * *

Marco walked down the castle halls in search of his possibly new sparring partner. He had gone to Sir Stabby first, who was hard to find. And after much skepticism and suspicion, he had given the a-okay. Now it was just the matter if Higgs would agree to doing it. He secretly wanted her to not agree so he can avoid some... awkwardness. But who knows what she will do, she's as unpredictable as Marco is nowadays.

Considering the time, he guessed that she would be in the forge room sharpening swords and polishing armor. So he walked down the same route he took to the forge room days ago.

Arriving at the door, he knocked on it once. When no response came, he pressed the side of his head onto the door. As expected, he could hear grinding noises from inside, which means that someone is in there. He lightly pushed the door open and poke his head in a bit. The only things he could see were a pile of swords and armor, and the back of the mewman squire herself, sparks coming out from in front of her.

He knocked on the door again, but she still didn't respond. She must not have heard him. He sighed and pushed the door open more, and walked up to her.

A few feet behind her back now, he lightly tapped her shoulder, ready for her to go self-defensive, "Higgs?"

She let out a yelp - something he did not expect - and spun around, and nearly chopped the side of Marco's neck. The human squire froze and his face became as white as snow at how the sword was only an inch to his neck. Higgs was panting and her hands were shaking. When she found out it was only Marco, she dropped the sword and hung her head down with a groan.

"I swear Marco, you keep this up and you'll be dead in no time." She said angrily. When Marco didn't respond, she just rolled her eyes, "Why are you here anyway?"

Marco recomposed himself and cleared his throat, "Oh, um... uh..."

"Look," She pinched the bridge of her nose, "If this is about me avoiding you like the plague, just know I have my reason, okay? Reasons that I will absolutely not share with anyone, especially with you."

Marco rubbed the back of his neck, "That's... not why I'm here. You see, Sir Lavabo sort of had this... 'idea', where you and... I could spar... together. No- wait, I mean each other, each other, yeah, While he's sick."

Higgs narrowed her eyes at him, while Marco's lips thinned and face blushed at his word mix-up. "You're joking, right?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not really." He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. She unfolded it and read the note.

"Dear Higgs,

Yes, Marco is not joking.

Sir Stabby."

At the bottom of Sir Stabby's name was his signature, making the letter legitimate. She sighed exasperatedly and rubbed her temples. Marco just watched as she continued to massage her head, not liking the silence that now appeared.

"Fine, meet me that spot you found me in the forest in an hour." She said, catching Marco by surprise.

"Wait, you're really agreeing to this?"

"Yup, only because I know I'm definitely gonna kick your butt."

"Oh, um..." Marco rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Okay then."

The two squires were surrounded by an awkward silence. Higgs' confidence was quickly diminished and she was trying to avoid to look directly at him. Marco was in the same situation, fidgeting in place and avoiding eye contact.

After a minute, Marco cleared his throat, "So... I'll see you in an hour, I guess."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Higgs replied. There was a few more seconds of awkward silence before Marco said a quick goodbye and speedwalked out of the room, leaving a still silent Higgs alone.

* * *

An hour passed. Marco was sitting down a log, his sword and armor beside him. He sort of forgot where her training spot was, so it took a while to navigate the forest. Now all he was doing was waiting as birds flew by above the canopy and other small creatures ran along the ground just outside the clearing.

Fortunately, the silence gave him time to think. The question that lingered in his mind now was 'Why would she agree to this?' It was unexpected, her agreeing to be his sparring partner. Of course, she herself did say it was so that she can kick his butt, but she had done that so many times in the past already, why would she want to prove herself now? Was there another reason why she agreed? He honestly did not know.

"Man, she's as unpredictable as me."

Just then, he heard a rustle of a bush behind him. Thinking something would jump him, he quickly grabbed his sword and turned around, brandishing it at possible foe. But no foe came, instead it was Higgs clad in armor and carrying a sword. Marco sighed and lowered his sword.

"Um, hey." He awkwardly waved at the mewman squire.

"Hi." She replied. Afraid that they'll have another moment of awkward silence, she immedistely said, "Look, let's just get this over with, alright?" She walked away and took a spot in the middle of the clearing.

Marco took his armor and put it on, struggling to put on his chestplate - and causing Higgs to roll her eyes. After much struggling, he took a spot in front of her, and both assumed a fighting stance.

"Ready?" Higgs said through a helmet. Marco nodded in response, and immediately got attacked by a charging Higgs. She kept on swinging her sword at him while he struggled to parry her attacks. Higgs pushed him back up against a tree. She brought jer sword up and was about to swing at him when he slipped away in time. He went for her hip, but his sword was immediately parried.

Higgs kept playing aggressive, swinging her sword around to try and hit him. But it was a bad idea, as she got more tired on every swing. Marco used this to his advantage and switched their roles. Now he was playing aggresive while she played defensive. He swung at her, careful to conserve his energy. He pushed her to the log he sat on, and she jumped on it, parrying his attacks while walking backwards on the log like a tightrope. She jumped off when she reached the end, and swung her sword hard at him, nearly making him fall. She was now attacking hard, hacking away at his sword. Marco was overwhelmed, so he backed out and ran behind the nearby dummy.

"Coward!" Higgs called out. Marco and Higgs were seperated by the dummy. He tried to go to his left, but Higgs tried to go to her right, and when he went for his right, she went for her left. They stayed like this for a bit until Higgs ripped the dummy off the ground and tossed it aside. She brought her sword above her head and swung down on him, but Marco immediately dodged to the side.

She kept on attacking him, pushing him back to the edge of the clearing against. Marco was in deep trouble now, and he tried his best to find an opening, but there was none. He was pushed back against a tree again. Higgs was about to swing at his legs, but Marco somehow jumped up, planted his feet against the trunk of the tree, and wall-jumped off of it and was now behind the shocked mewman squire. He quickly turned around and swung his sword hard at her hip, emitting a loud ding.

The attack had enough force to knock Higgs down to the ground, her armor emitting a series of clangs and dings. A heavily panting Marco stared at the fallen squire with as equal shock. He looked down at his hands as if they would explain to him what just happened.

Higgs recovered from her fall and now stood in front of the human squire with furrowed eyebrows, "What the heck did you just do?"

"I-I don't know exactly. But I guess that means I wi- oof!" He felt a force on his chest push him back and he fell to the ground. He groaned in pain and clutched his chest.

"Ow, what the heck was that for?!" He yelled.

Higgs pointed her finger at him, "That's for making me fall on my butt."

She held out a hand for him. Marco looked at the hand then to her face with narrowed eyes.

"Do you want my help or not?" She said as she placed her other hand on her hip. Marco groaned and grabbed her hand, the got pulled up to his feet.

"You know, you're pretty good." He heard her say. Marco immediately turned his gaze to her and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I said you're..." She crossed her arms, "Pretty good."

"Oh, um, thanks. You too, I guess." He said, not noticing the faint red color on her cheeks, "So, I guess this sparring match is done."

"Yup."

Marco nodded and turned to leave, but Higgs stopped him, "Um, hey. You know, I've been looking for a new sparring partner for a while. So, if you want, you can, you know, spar me and stuff.

Marco's eyebrows shot up, "Are you serious?"

She nodded.

Marco's eyes narrowed, "You sure you're just not offering me this so that you can fuel your ego by kicking my butt?"

Higgs rolled her eyes, "I would never stoop that low, Diaz. And I actually am in need of a new sparring partner."

Marco's lips thinned as he thought of it. This would probably be the best way to befriend her, and it could help him relieve a bit of stress from all the thoughts running around his head. And that unexplainable force inside him was now pushing him to agree, and he now knew that it was hard to ignore that force.

"Alright, I'll do it." He said. Higgs eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she had a bit of red on her, which Marco just dismissed as her being out of breath.

"Oh, okay. Cool. So, I guess I'll see you next sparring match." She said.

"Um, yeah. See ya, I guess." He turned around and walked away. Higgs stared at his back until he was deep within the trees. She felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest, and she found it hard to breath.

"Wow."

* * *

A few days ago...

Higgs opened her eyes to the image of Marco in a fancy two piece suit. His hand was on her hip and she was holding up her hand. She looked down and saw she was wearing an orange sundress with a ribbon of a darker shade around her waist and a pair of boots that reached up to her knees. She glanced to her left and saw a bunch of other people in fancy clothes dancing as well, and a stage with a bunch of band members playing a slow song.

She turned back to Marco, who had a warm smile that made her knees weak. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" He said.

It took her a moment to respond, "Y-yeah, it is."

Marco's smile widened. The two just danced to the song and stared at each other for a while. Higgs couldn't help but notice how his eyes had this warm chocolate color that made her cozy and just want to stare at them all her life. She started to warm up and her eyes were now half-lidded.

She saw Marco had started leaning forward a bit, and she couldn't help but lean in as well.

"Higgs..." He whispered. Their faces were now just an inch apart. Higgs tilted her head sideways and...

She woke up with a jump, and she sat up on her bed. Her room was dark, and the only light source was the moonlight going through her room. She brought a hand up to her lips and began to feel it. She dropped her hand back to the bed with a low thump and just stared into the darkness.

"Oh no."

* * *

sorry for not updating in a while, school just started and i had a nasty case of writer's block. and sorry i was a bit out of my element on this one.

anyway, read and review blah blah blah

sir lavabo secretly ships miggs

6241863


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